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M. WHITE. WIND WHEEL. No. 593,170. Patented Nov. 2,1897.

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2 SheetsSheet 2. M. WHITE. WIND WHEEL.

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UNITED STATES PATENT rricn.

WIND-WHEEL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 593,170, dated November 2, 1897.-

Application filed May 22, 1895.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Mormon WHITE, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of Vancouver, in the Province of British lumbia, Canada, have invented a new and useful Improvement in WVind-VVheels, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to that class of windwheels operated by automatically-swinging wings vertically arranged and revolving around a common center; and its general object is to furnish such a wheel that will offer the least resistance on its advancing side, while on the receding side it offers walls of canvas to the wind and by the improved manner of mounting provides a vertical shaft or center which revolves with a minimum of I friction and that is of a cheap and practical construction.

I attain the above from the mechanism illus trated in the accompanying drawings, which is considered a part of this specification.

Figure 1 shows an elevation of my windwheel with the canvas removed to better illustrate its general arrangement. Fig. 2 shows a detail plan view of theupper set of arms, which support the apparatus for the canvas; and Fig. 3 is a vertical section of the same, taken at line 1 1, and showing the slidable arms 26, which lift and lower the canvas. Fig. 4 is a plan view of the lower set'of arms, which are rigidly fixed to the cylinder 10; and Fig. 5 is a vertical section taken at line 2 2 of the same figure. This shows how the wheel having the central shaft 14 is supported and operated. Fig. 6 is an enlarged detailed view of the canvas-frames, taken in perspective, showing the mode of securing the canvas; and Fig. 7 is one of the canvashangers.

Similar letters and numerals designate corresponding parts throughout all of the views, which I will here describe at length.

To furnish a suitable frame to support my wind-wheel, I provide the vertical posts A, these being suitably secured together by horizontal timbers B, O, and D, and at the top is a cross-tie E, which also furnishes suitable supports for thevertical upper hub of the wheel.

In describing the mechanism of my windwheel, 10 indicates a vertical cylinder, at the top of which is secured a flange 11. This Serial No. 550,235. (No model.)

flange 11 is designed to support the entire weight of the wheel, and it is supported by a series of spherical bearings 12, which when the wheel is in operation travel around a common center in an annular channel in the support-block 13, which is suitably secured to the cross-timber D. (See Figs. 1 and 5.) Passing through the said cylinder 10 and rising to some distance above the same is a rod or shaft 14, its extending upper portion, except a small portion of the top, being threaded, as at 14, for a reason to appear. At the lower portion of the cylinder 10 is suitably secured a drum 17, to which is fixed a plate 16, and depending through this plate 16 is the lower end of the shaft 14, which is reduced, the shoulders of the larger portion resting on the said plate 16. This provides a suitable support for the shaft 14, as otherwise it would drop from its true position.

On the extreme upper end of the cylinder 10 is secured a platform 22, by means of the thread 10, and to this plate 22 are seen-rely bolted the arms 23, the shaft 14 passing loosely through apertures therein, (see Fig. 5,) and above the arms 23 is a plate 25, which is supported by having an interior thread engaging the thread of the shaft, as 14, and a second set of arms 26 are secured to the plate 25 in a similar manner-to the first set.

19 represents a short hub or gudgeon threaded into the plate 20, as at 19, and its upper end is loosely journaled in the crosstie E. The true object of this hub 19 is to provide a suitable upper bearing for the wheel that will not interfere with the vertical screw 14, the upper end of which rests in the aperture in the plate 19". (See Fig. 3.) As shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 5, the plates 20 and 22 are rigidly connected by vertical rods 24, the same being placed at equal distances to each other around the threaded shaft 14, and the intermediate plate 25 is allowed to slide up and down by loosely receiving the said rods through apertures therein, the ob ject of which will be understood presently. 27 represents loosely-arranged swinging frames which pass through apertures in the projections 21, 26, and 23. (See Fig. 1.)

As will be better understood in Fig. 6, the cables 28 prevent the inner frames 27 from passing beyond the circle described by their opposite sides, which are hinged in the lugs 21, 26, and 23, and the cables 28 prevent the outer swinging frames 27 from passing beyond a parallel line with the inner frames. This arrangement prevents the possibility of the sails at any time from being carried outwardly past their proper position by adverse winds or otherwise. I

In order to raise and lower the canvas in a horizontal position on the frames,I furnish the triangle brackets 29. with apertures througln which the vertical rods of the frames 27 loosely pass, the forked branches of the said triangles 29 being placed above and below the vertically-movable arms 26 and lying on the projections 26, and extending below the said arms to the bottom of frames 27 are loosely arranged thereon crossbars 30, which are provided at intervals on their sides of resistance to the wind with buttons 30, intended to secure the canvas. (See Fig. 6.)

To prevent the radial arms from becoming depressed from the weight of the frames 27, I support the weight by inserting keys 27 through the engaging sides of the said frames, the same resting on the lower arms 23, which are supported by the cables 23, as shown in Fig. 1. It is here indicated that the vertical threaded shaft 14 is for raising and lowering the canvas only, and by reason of its upper end loosely journaling in the plate 19 and the" shoulders of its lower depending end resting on the plate 16 on the cylinder 10 that motion imparted thereto will raise and lower the intermediate arms 26, which support the canvas, and that when the gear for raising and lowering the canvas is detached, as will be'fully explained, there will never be danger ofthe shaft/14 taking momentum upon itself independent of the cylinder, and thus running the canvas up or down when not desi-red. v Y

31 indicates a bevel gear-wheel which when in use engages with a spur-bevel on the lower depending end of the shaft 14. The said wheel 31 is secured to a shaft 32, whose lower end rests in-a bearing 33 on-the cross-frame B,-and the upper end thereof passes through the cross-frame O and journals in a similar hearing 34, which is operated by a hand-wheel 35. When the Wind-wheel is in operation, the bevel-spur 18 and its engaging bevel-wheel lever 36, which has its shorter end resting under the hand-wheel 35 and is fulcrumed at 37 and the longer portion resting under the hooked bracket 38, and thus allowing the cylinder 10 and the shaft 14 to revolve as an integral part. i

When it is desired to raise or lower the plate 25; carrying the arms 26, the lever 36, as shown in Fig. 1,- is detached from the hooked bracket 38, which will contact the wheels 18 and 31, and by reason of the shaft 14 being threaded for its entire length be- These are provided .whenrotary motion is imparted to the said shaft 14, by the turning of the wheel 35 on the shaft 32, the arms 26, carrying the devices for mounting the canvas, will be raised or lowered at pleasure. The wheels 18 and 31 are again detached by the lever 36 being lodged beneath the hooked bracket 38.

From the foregoing it will be seen that my wheel is very simple and cheap of construction and may be readily understood and 0p erated by inexperienced persons and may be with little trouble set up, which is a very material improvement and an important advantage over wheels of similar design.

Having thus described and illustrated my invention, What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a wind-wheel, the combination with a vertical revolving cylinder of sails carried thereby, a threaded shaft passing through the said cylinder and revolubly supported therein, connections between said threaded shaft and the sails, and means for communicating a rotary motion to the threaded shaft independent of the motion of the cylinder whereby the sails may be raised and lowered, substantially as described.

2. In a wind-wheel, the combination with a v ertical revolving cylinder of sailss upported thereby, a plate 16 secured to the said cylinder, a shaft 14 having its upper portion threaded, supported by said plate 16, a flange 11 secured on and near the upper end of the said cylinder and resting upon a supportingbase 18, and connections between the said sails and the shaft 14 whereby the sails may be raised andlowered, substantially as specified.

In a wind-wheel, the combination with a vertical revolving cylinder 10 of a plate 22 attached thereto, a plate 20 supported by and above said plate 22, a vertical threaded shaft 2 14 supported in the cylinder 10 and passing 3 through an aperture in the plate 22, sail-sup- 1 porting arrn's attached to plates 20 and 22, a

plate 25 engaging the threaded shaft 14 between the plates 20 and 22 and movable along f said shaft and connections between the sails and said plate. 25 whereby the sails may f be raised and lowered, substantially as described.

31 on the shaft 32 are disconnected by the 1 4. In a wind-wheel the combination of a vertical revolving cylinder 10, a plate 22 car- ,ried thereon, vertical rods 24 supported by ings, a plate 19 attached to the under side of plate 20, a vertical threaded shaft 14 supported in a cylinder 10 and journaled at its upper end in the plate 19*, a plate 25 engaging the threaded shaft 14 between plates 20 and 22 and connections between the said 6. In wind-Wheels, the combination with the radial sail-supporting arms 21 and-23 of the rectangular sail-frames 27" pivoted thereto, canvas-hangers 3O slidably supported upon the Vertical sides of the said frames, arms 26 supported between the arms 21 and 23 and vertically movable therebetween, and sailsupporting brackets attached to the said arms 26, substantially as described.

MONROE WHITE. Witnesses:

R. L. VALLENS, H. M. SUCKLING: 

